


A Simple Little Pill

by americanhoney913



Series: Catradora [3]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora can't swallow pills, Adora the theater nerd, Alternate Universe - High School, Catra has an idea, F/F, Menstruation, ish, mentions of heats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:20:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24976735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/americanhoney913/pseuds/americanhoney913
Summary: Adora loves life.She loves everything about it. She loves boxing, and sunshine, and daffodils, and the beach, and crayons, and smiley faces, and springtime, and kittens, and Coca-Cola, and the Brightmoon High Alicorns, and sunsets, and palm trees, and dogs, and plaid shirts, and getting muddy, and crossword puzzles, and gold nail polish, and cool character capes, and dancing, and her gem collection, and laughter. She loves her friends, and family, and her horse, Swift Wind, and animated movies that have messages. She loves Bow, and Glimmer, and Perfuma, and Catra and all their other friends. She can name a thousand things she loves about life.She doesn’t hate very much. She’s a generally happy and optimistic person and could hardly ever be found in a bad mood. However, on this day, it is to be noted, that Adora Hollis is in a spectacularly terrible mood.Terrible.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: Catradora [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1807921
Comments: 3
Kudos: 99





	A Simple Little Pill

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Nae from the Catradora Club for looking this over for me!

Adora Hollis loves life.

She loves everything about it. She loves boxing, and sunshine, and daffodils, and the beach, and crayons, and smiley faces, and springtime, and kittens, and Coca-Cola, and the Brightmoon High Alicorns, and sunsets, and palm trees, and dogs, and plaid shirts, and getting muddy, and crossword puzzles, and gold nail polish, and cool character capes, and dancing, and her gem collection, and laughter. She loves her friends, and family, and her horse, Swift Wind, and animated movies that have messages. She loves Bow, and Glimmer, and Perfuma, and Catra and all their other friends. She can name a thousand things she loves about life.

She doesn’t hate very much. She’s a generally happy and optimistic person and could hardly ever be found in a bad mood. However, on this day, it is to be noted, that Adora Hollis is in a spectacularly terrible mood.

Terrible.

In fact, if zooming in on the blonde student, one would find her, at 4:31 pm, at their play rehearsal, saying in a very polite manner to her costar, Double Trouble, "YOU'RE SUCH A BITCH, AND THIS IS A STUPID PLAY AND YOU’RE NOT A GOOD ACTOR AT ALL!"

So yes, she’s in a rather unusually terrible mood. Well, not so unusual, really, as her friends have come to understand. In fact, Adora Hollis, Brightmoon High’s exploding ball of sunshine (Catra's name for the brunette had spread to become more endearing rather than mean), isn’t very sunny at a certain time every month.

Adora Hollis can name thousands of things she loves about life, and one she hates. She despises her period.

This’s why Double Trouble doesn't bother to get offended by such an insult. Instead, they merely shake their head, flick their thin green tail, and tells Lance they can’t work with Adora on the twenty-fifth of the month. Ever.

Adora, angry before, now seems very upset. ("Mood swings," Double Trouble had proclaimed with an eye-roll.) Currently, she’s lying, curled up in the fetal position on the bathroom floor behind the theater, holding back tears.

Which brings us to the real reason Adora hates her period.

It hurts like fucking hell.

Adora's cramps are terrible. Terrible. Worse than the bad mood she was in ten minutes earlier, and the cause of that mood too. Her cramps are like someone’s putting a hammer to her abdomen, someone’s repeatedly slinging cannonballs at her, someone had reached inside her and twisted her insides into unbreakable knots. Her cramps always end up with her curled into a ball around the toilet, attempting not to vomit from the pain.

And the worst part?

Adora can’t swallow pills.

She's tried everything. Tried with water and without. Tried distracting herself, or crushing them up. None of it worked. She has a psychological barrier to the pills. She just can't swallow them. Which leaves her in a pained heap on the bathroom floor, holding back tears of sheer frustration.

Double Trouble had long abandoned their fellow actor, sniffing with frustration, "Oh, not this again," leaving Adora feeling very sad, very alone, and very much in pain.

She sits up with a determined expression. She  _ will _ swallow that pill. Pamprin won’t get the best of her again. She won’t wait so long to swallow it that it dissolves in her mouth, the medicinal taste causing her to gag and throw up again. She won’t. She’ll be strong and brave and swallow the pill. She’ll do it.

She’s opening her second water bottle for her fourth time trying to swallow a pill when she hears a knock at the door. Not in the mood to deal with anyone, she leaves it. Because, she knows of course, who it'll be. There's only one person that somehow always seems to show up at the worst times. Maybe the cat in her is drawn to chaos.

"Aaaaaa-doooooo-raaaaa!"

Catra Atrox.

"Guess who got the two leads in _ She-Ra: The Musical _ ? I'll give you three guesses."

Adora should just ignore her. Catra has to go away eventually, right? Besides, she’s going to swallow that pill, and nothing’s going to stop her. She will not fall for Catra’s distractions! Even though she’s a rather attractive distraction…

'Oh crap, I'm in so much pain I've gone mental,' she thinks and bites her lip. 'How did Catra even know where I was? I'm in a bathroom far away from any of her cheer practice!'

"Nope, it's not whatever you were probably thinking. I guess you'll just have to try again, Adora."

Okay. She  _ will  _ just put the pill in her mouth, on the back of her tongue, and drink the water. And she  _ will  _ simply swallow the pill with the water. The pill  _ will _ go down her throat and stop the insanely painful cramps. It  _ will _ work.

She can do this.

"Sorry, Adora, it's not that stupid white-haired muscle girl that's been hitting on you either. I don't know why you think she's any good frankly. Oh, and I saw you looking at her. Why were you looking at her like that? She's not a good actor, Adora. And she's ugly. She has white hair! And I don't know what you see in her, Adora, because she's not good enough for you."

Adora looks at herself in the mirror with a determined expression. The pill was in her mouth. She took a drink of the water. She’ll swallow the pill now. She’ll let it pass down her throat. She’ll swallow it.

Damnit, why can’t she swallow it?

The pill is starting to dissolve in her mouth again, the medicinal taste creeping at the back of her mouth, tingling on her tongue. She has to ignore it and swallow the pill. She won’t let her gag reflex get the best of her, again.

She really won’t.

"Not that I care,” Adora can hear Catra scoff beyond the bathroom door. She can imagine the cat-girl’s tail twitching as she continues to talk. “You know, about whether she's good enough for you. I mean, it's not even that I don't care; it's that I don't even think about. Because why would I think about that? Right? I mean, you can look at whoever you like. Just not that one. Or the others. Or really, anyone at this school, because they're all jerks. Not that I care if you like a jerk. Or anyone. I don't care if you like anyone— Adora?” There was a slamming noise against the door. “What was that noise? Are you okay?"

‘That noise’ as Catra kindly put it, is Adora's gag reflex getting the best of her again. Damnit, why does every pill make her vomit?

Adora slumps on the ground, spent. She’s in pain, and tired, and frustrated, and Catra’s right in front of her. Since when was Catra right in front of her? How did she get through the door? Adora had locked the door and the only other person who had the key was…

Her dizzy gaze lands on the keys Catra had stolen from the janitor a long time ago lying on the counter. Ah. Catra unlocked it. Well. That makes more sense.

Well, no, she reminds herself, it doesn’t. Why’s Catra even here? And what had she been going on about? Huntara?

"Adora?" Catra says, voice unexpectedly gentle and full of concern. Catra leans down and pushes a strand of hair back from the blonde’s face, tail coming to rest next to her hand on the tile. "What's wrong?"

That’s a funny question, Adora thinks, dizzy. What isn’t wrong?

This thought leads Adora into a dramatic inner tirade against the world, only interrupted by Catra stumbling backwards, looking pale. Light-headed, Adora turns her gaze to what’s made the cat-girl so startled, and… disgusted?

Ah, she notes, bursting into laughter. The box with tampons falling out of them in the corner of the bathroom. Double Trouble must have chucked them into the room before storming away. They might be an asshole sometimes—especially when a show or rehearsal has to be put on hold—but Adora knows they still secretly care.

Catra turns towards her indignantly, ears going flat against her skull, tail fluffing out, although her eyes softened at her laugh. "It's not funny."

"Yes," Adora chuckles, amused, "it really is. Calm down, Catra, it's just my period. We took sex ed and bio together." While Adora and the rest of the human population of Brightmoon High experienced normal human biology, those with animal biology experienced different things depending on their species. Catra went though heats three times a year and would usually miss three days to a week of school because of it.

Looking mildly horrified at Adora's previous statement, Catra glances around the room, attempting to find a way to change the subject. "Um, so, why are you curled up around the toilet?" Catra asks, a glint of mischief and faint concern sparkling in her two-toned eyes. "Are you sick?"

"I feel like I've been hit by a truck. On a freeway. Repeatedly.”

Catra’s eyes grow wide as she sits down in front of her, biting her lip. Adora can see a little bit of fang peeking out. "Do you have a cold? Should I get you soup or something?"

The blonde laughs. "Catra, I'm not sick. How oblivious are you? Were you sleeping through every single bio and sex-ed class? "

Catra's expression instantly turns confused, eyebrows furrowing. "But you said…."

Adora sighs, and chucks an unopened tampon at her, and Catra’s ears fold back. Catra instantly flushes, her blush obvious under her fur. "Ah," the cat-girl chokes out, fiddling with the belts around her waist.

Adora rolls her eyes. She knows that Catra’s heats are difficult for her and vastly different from her own periods, but they did learn about each other’s biology last year. It’s as if Catra’s forgotten. Catra pushes Adora, flicking her tail against the blonde’s nose.

"I have terrible cramps," she explains to the cat-girl. "I feel a cross between being stabbed in the stomach by a thousand knives, fifty cannibals eating out my abdomen, someone injecting me with lethal poison, and being socked repeatedly in the stomach by a professional wrestler." She shrugs. “Probably not so different from what you feel during your heats.” Adora wiggles her eyebrows. “It’s not a sexual thing for humans. But it’s horrible and happens every single month. At least yours is only three times a year.”

Catra blushes. “Adora,” she whines. She huffs before she wraps her tail around Adora’s wrist. "That sounds really terrible," the cat-girl says gently. "Can I do anything? Get you a pill or something?" She shrugs. “Pills don’t help me with my heats, but I know they've got some for humans.”

Adora can’t help it. She bursts into hysterical laughter.

"Hey!" Catra yelps, eyes wide. "What's so funny?"

But Adora doesn’t stop laughing. She’s on her back in the gross single-person bathroom in the back of the school near the theater, hair pooling out on the bathroom floor, side pressed into the toilet, Catra cross-legged beside her, shaking with laughter. Slowly, she calms herself enough to look Catra in the eye, and bites her lip sheepishly, as she explains, "I can't swallow pills."

Catra looks at her in disbelief. "Very funny. You can't pull one over on me, ‘Dora."

Adora rolls her eyes, sitting up. " _ Au contraire _ , my feline friend. I'm not lying. I cannot swallow a pill. I throw up when I try."

Catra raises one eyebrow, slowly considering her expression. "Seriously?" the feline scoffs, her ear flicking.

Adora nods with a sigh, expecting Catra to offer some other solution – chewable pills (which don’t take away the pain), liquid pain relief (which doesn’t exist… she’s asked Glimmer to make her a potion on more than one occasion), or the mere cheer of Catra’s presence (which is kind of nice—no, wait, what was she thinking?).

Instead, Catra burst out in hysterical laughter, until she was the one lying on the floor, tail lashing, eyes sparkling in amusement. Adora looks down at her, annoyed.

"It's not funny," she grumbles. "Do you know how much it sucks that I can't swallow pills?"

Catra shakes her head, slowly sitting up. "Adora, how old are you? Seriously. I can't believe you can't swallow pills. Lonnie would have a field day."

Adora's eyes roll again. "She knows. She's the one who's been helping me... at least when this happens during a play."

"Oh," Catra says, voice small. "I didn't know you were that close." Adora bites her lip. "Just… try to take another pill."

Adora sighs. "I've tried everything, Catra. I can't swallow it, okay? I should just give up and go home."

Catra shakes her head, grabbing the pill box. "Where's that famous optimism, Adora? You can do this."

Adora knows how this’ll go, but she plays along. She takes the box from Catra, and let one super-strength pill fall into her palm. "What brilliant idea do you have to get me to swallow this?" she asked the cat-girl, already knowing this won’t work.

Catra chews on her lip in thought. Then her heterochromatic eyes light up. "Just put the pill in your mouth," the cat-girl says mischievously, tail swishing in a way that makes Adora worried.

"Catra…" Adora begins, wary of the look on the feline’s face.

"Just do it, ‘Dora."

Sighing, Adora puts the pill in her mouth, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Alright, Catra," she mumbles around the pill, "what are you—"

Adora doesn’t manage to finish her sentence before Catra’s lips are on hers.

Surprise isn’t a big enough word for what she’s feeling, but despite the fact that she’s sitting frozen in place, Catra keeps kissing her. The cat-girl’s lips feel warm and God, she tastes amazing. The blonde can feel butterflies in her stomach replacing cramps. She swallows, hard, and begins to kiss Catra back.

If she’s being honest, she's thought about kissing Catra before. In fact, she's thought about it a lot. She’s a girl who daydreams a lot, and recently, Catra Atrox and her lips had featured prominently in those daydreams.

Adora knows nothing comes out of daydreams – real life can never compare. And she was right. Kissing Catra in real life is nothing like kissing her in daydreams. Kissing Catra in real life is, well…

It’s fifty times better.

Adora gently pulls away from her, gasping for breath. In fact, Adora notes, Catra’s pretty close to breathless herself, and she can feel how flushed her cheeks are. She leans against the tiled wall and Catra settles next to her. Adora reaches out with her hand and gently strokes her fingers over the fur on Catra’s tail.

The cat-girl, however, wears a triumphant smile. "What?" Adora asks, confused, eyebrows furrowed.

"It worked," Catra explains with a grin, still a little breathless. "I was right."

"What worked?" she asks, so confused as to what Catra’s talking about.

"You swallowed the pill." Catra grins, shrugging, her ears perked. "I thought that maybe it was like hiccups. If the person got surprised…"

Adora forces herself to smile, feeling an abject sense of disappointment. Catra kissed her to make her swallow the pill; to surprise her. Nothing more than that.

"That's great, Catra," she mutters, attempting to sound cheerful. She feels pain in her heart to go along with her cramps. Hopefully, the latter will go away, but she knows that there’s pain for her in the future. Adora’s always liked Catra, so this hurts. But at least she’ll always have this one moment.

"You know what this means, right?" Catra continues with a dazzling smile, her fangs on full display. Her tail wraps around Adora’s wrist.

Of course, Adora thinks. It means that you don’t actually want to kiss me. It means nothing at all.

"It means," Catra goes on when Adora says nothing, "that I'm going to have to kiss you every time you have to swallow a pill.” She sounds so proud of herself, her chest puffed out, the fur on her chest peeking out over the top of her tank-top. She shrugs. “You know, out of the goodness of my heart, to help relieve your pain. And think of the number of pills you'll need. Advil, and Tylenol, and Pamprin…"

Adora feels the disappointment dissolve, like a pill, and a smile breaks out on her face. "You know," the blonde says, "Pamprin really doesn't work that well, so I've heard. But I'm going to be in _so much pain_ , I might need to be surprised. You know, distracted…"

"Are you suggesting," Catra responds with a grin, pushing a strand of blonde hair behind Adora’s ear, "that I'm better than Pamprin?" Adora can hear the beginning of a rumble of a purr begin in the back of Catra’s throat.

"I don't know," Adora teases with a smile. "Kiss me again, and I'll see."

Catra was more than happy to do the honor.

And this is where we leave Adora Hollis– in a fierce lip-lock with Catra Atrox on the bathroom floor of Brightmoon High’s theater wing. And from that day forward, even Double Trouble feels that they could deal with Adora on the twenty-fifth of the month. At least they don’t have to deal with Adora being a grump and yelling at them during rehearsals. All their friends have to put up with is a great deal of Adora and Catra making out whenever they can. Not just on the twenty-fifth.

Which, as their friends saw it, was a slight improvement.

And so life continues. Adora Hollis continues to love life. She continues to love a thousand things – sorry, a thousand and one things – about life. She still loves boxing, and sunshine, and daffodils, and the beach, and crayons, and smiley faces, and so on. But, above all, she also adds Catra Atrox to that list.

The top of that list, to be exact.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed it. I wanted to do a mix of HS AU but with elements from the show.
> 
> Let me know what you guys thought!


End file.
